A Complicated Love
by Ushiromiya
Summary: One day, Nico decides to muster up her courage to confess to Maki. However, she is immediately turned down when Maki claims that they are only acquaintances outside of μ's. Surprisingly, after much thought, Maki ends up expressing her desire to get to know Nico better! Just how will these odd turn of events affect their relationship with one another?
1. Chapter 1

It was an excruciatingly hot autumn day in Tokyo. The cicadas that surrounded the area chirped non-stop, making any sort of tranquility impossible. Yet, even with the lack of silence, the atmosphere on the rooftop of Otonokizaka High School was undeniably tense.

"I like you!"

The words that came out of Yazawa Nico's mouth rang even louder than her racing heart. Her face was completely flushed, but surely that was not all due to the blazing sun's powerful rays.

The small girl's posture was erect and her sweaty trembling palms rested by her thighs. Her legs shook so violently that she was even having trouble keeping herself upright. The adrenaline rush that came from live performances was definitely unable to compete with the unnerving thrill of confessing to a loved one.

The recipient, who was none other than Nishikino Maki, simply stood still in one spot while playing around with the tips of her lush red hair with her fingers. Even though the songwriter was usually cool and composed, she found herself unable to look her upperclassman straight in the eye.

Maki heaved a heavy sigh. After a moment of contemplation, she mustered up the courage to lock eyes with her admirer before giving her response - that was the least she could do for her.

"I can't accept your feelings." Maki's words flowed smoothly one after the other. She had thrown out her rejection without even blinking an eye. As soon as the words processed in her head, Nico's shoulders fell and her determined facial expression disappeared.

"W-Why not?" Those were the only words that a dejected Nico could conjure up in her state. The color in her face started to drain itself out quickly and her legs seemed as if they were ready collapse at any minute. However, Maki took no mercy on the girl.

"Do you even have to think much about it? All we do is fight and it's not like you know a lot me anyway - at least, not enough for you to fall for me. You annoy me, I annoy you, but outside of that, we're just acquaintances."

Nico flinched. Although she wanted to retort, she wasn't exactly notorious for making up good excuses on the spot. However, amidst all of Maki's cold words, Nico's optimism allowed for her to pull out a sliver of hope from her explanation.

"Hehe," Nico giggled to herself. Maki arched her eyebrows, genuinely fearing that the shock had corrupted Nico's head. Nico flashed Maki a stupidly big grin that spread from ear to ear.

"That's one of the things I love about you, Maki-chan! You don't mind the fact that I'm a girl one bit~"

"W-Wha-" Maki searched for a counterargument, but to no avail. As the blood rushed to her face, she turned her head around. Immediately, the tension in the atmosphere was wiped away with the two's usual antics, which consisted of Nico's teasing and Maki's dishonest reactions.

"Don't worry, Maki-chan! I will make you fall for Nico Nii!"

"How can you be so confident?" Maki let out an unimpressed scoff.

"Fufu, isn't it obvious?" Nico's idiotic smile soon turned into a gentle gaze. "It's because I understand Maki-chan more than anyone else!"

"... W-What's with that? I don't get you!"

The two girls stared at each other for a good few minutes, but they couldn't help bursting into a fit of laughter. Even though Nico had just gotten rejected, she thought that maybe for now, just being idiots together was enough.

* * *

Thinking back on it now, Nico was highly embarrassed at her declaration. Just how was she supposed to get someone as stubborn as _Maki _to fall in love with her anyway?

The third year girl slumped against the long-table inside of the club room. She was the first to arrive, as usual, but it was odd that even after fifteen minutes, no one else bothered to stop by.

Well, it wasn't even that Nico cared about when Honoka, Kotori, Umi, Eri, Nozomi, Hanayo or Rin showed up. There was only one person who the amazingly talented Yazawa Nico waited for, and it wasn't just on this particular day either. It was just Nico's normal routine to get to the club room before everyone else so she could initiate a fight with Maki the moment she walked through the door.

But for today, Nico was alone. She didn't mind the solitude, but the peacefulness in the room made her head get lost in a train of thought. Of course, as of recent, the only person that Nico ever had on her mind at all times was Maki.

She couldn't exactly remember when the songwriter became such a meaningful existence in her life. It came as a huge surprise to Nico as well, and while she was stuck in denial for the longest time, she eventually came to accept it one day when her heart couldn't stop aching for the first year student.

It really did sting when Maki rejected the confession that Nico spent weeks just _practicing _how she should go about wording it. However, because Nico couldn't operate very well under pressure, the speech she had prepared went straight down the drain - not that she minded it now. It would have been ten times more embarrassing for Nico to have recited her romantic monologue only to get rejected in the end.

But that aside, Nico couldn't help but ponder at the reason why Maki rejected her. Surely she had more to say, but Maki was probably being as considerate as possible at the time.

"Outside of Muse, we're just acquaintances, huh..." Nico mumbled mindlessly to herself. In all honesty, Nico had considered the two to be close friends, but she chastised herself for not taking Maki's feelings into consideration. But even so, no matter how much she racked her brain around the problem, she still couldn't see why Maki only thought of them as mere acquaintances.

"I mean, the definition of an 'acquaintance' is someone who barely knows anything about someone else! I know lots about Maki already! ... I think." Nico pouted as she gave it more and more thought. It was true that Nico didn't ever think about how Maki would feel about suddenly getting confessed to, but Maki also never stopped to think of their relationship as 'two **friends** who get on each other's nerves' like Nico did - in other words, it was a one-sided friendship.

Amidst Nico's fussing came a click from the door. Although she had expected Maki to walk in, she was noticeably disappointed when it was Nozomi instead.

"Tch, it's just Nozomi." Nico found herself expressing her thoughts aloud.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" Nozomi asked with a menacing facial expression clearly indicating she heard Nico's words loud and clear. She stuck out her infamous 'predator hands' and started inching closer towards Nico.

"N-Nothing! I'm so happy to see you! B-By the way, have you seen anyone else? It's been pretty empty in here!" Nico attempted to cover up her mistake by changing the subject.

"Eh? Oh, Eri-chi took the new student council members to show them the ropes. I don't know where Rin-chan and Hanayo-chan are, but I saw Maki-chan earlier," Nozomi replied, taking the bait.

"I-Is that so..." Nico spoke halfheartedly. It took a moment for her to process what Nozomi had said, but when she did, she jumped out of her seat. "Wait, did you just say Maki?! You... you didn't _talk _to her, did you?"

Nozomi grinned. "Oh, I heard all about it, Nico-chi."

"Ugh, that Maki..." Nico cursed under her breath.

"... From my cards, though." Nozomi pulled out a tarot card from her sleeve to show Nico the proof. "In the end, you still got rejected, huh?"

"Guh... I-Isn't that normal? And besides, I haven't given up yet!"

"I didn't say anything~ If anything, I'm just waiting for it to happen."

"... What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll have to find out for yourself!" Nozomi said with a wink. Nico felt her eyebrow twitching, unimpressed with Nozomi's answer, but before she could pry any further, Nozomi walked towards the door. "Anyway, I only dropped by to see how you were doing. It seems like you're fine, so I suppose there's no need to call Maki-chan in here-"

"WHAT?!" Nico sped towards the door at lightning speed. She peered outside the club room, and sure enough, there stood the ever-so-beautiful Maki, who was leaning against the wall and blushing like mad. "Nozomi!"

"Hehe, I'll leave the rest up to you two! It looks like Maki-chan has something to say to you, Nico-chi! With that said, I'm off to help Eri-chi again, so good luck~" Nozomi quickly fled the scene, leaving behind only Nico and Maki.

The atmosphere between the two soon turned tense. Not only were there loose ends that needed to be tied up, but Maki also wanted to chat with Nico for whatever reason.

"S-So..." Nico tried to break the silence. "Nice weather we're having today, right?" On the inside, Nico began to beat her inner self up. _You couldn't have thought of anything else to say, huh..._ she thought to herself.

"Nico-chan," Maki spoke up, completely ignoring Nico's previous comment. "Let's... get to know each other better."

* * *

**A/N: **Sort of a cliffhanger ending - just to be a bum. I wrote the first half or so on my phone, and somehow, I find that descriptive writing is so much harder on my laptop. I wonder why that is (probably because I type really quickly so I don't spend much time reading over what I wrote when I'm on my computer... something like that anyway). I originally never intended to write this in hefty paragraphs (a.k.a. sort-of-novel-formatting) since I was aiming more for "cute &amp; fluffy", but I guess I screwed up in a way.

I'll try to aim for that fluff in the next couple of chapters, but I also want to be a sadist and make all of my readers writhe in utter pain and agony (well, a little less painful than _that_), so expect some angst somewhere down the road.

Also, I have to say that I've read a lot of fics &amp; doujin where Nico calls Maki, "Maki-chan", but I'm almost 101% positive that Nico just calls her "Maki" (please go watch / re-watch season 2 episode 2).


	2. Chapter 2

That was the first time Maki had ever been confessed to.

Well, not that it was particularly surprising anyway. While many people have acknowledged Maki's elegant red hair, lavish lavender eyes, slender fingers and her delicate piano playing, she had always attended all-girls schools out of her own free will. Sure, she had a handful of fans who had admired her musical talents, but most people were too intimated by the girl's beauty and wealth to really approach her personally.

Therefore, not only did Maki not have any potential love interests, but she also didn't have many friends to speak of - not that she minded anyway. From a young age, she had always been focused on studying so she could inherit her family's business as soon as possible. It wasn't really her idea to do so, but she had never wavered from this path.

Well, not until she was approached by the troublesome Kousaka Honoka anyway. From the moment she joined Muse, the other eight members showed her that life wasn't just a straight road to the future, there were more things to be discovered and passions to explore. She was incredibly grateful for Honoka and her persistence that led her to joining the group and everyone else that guided her.

Yes, naturally, she was also very thankful for having Yazawa Nico in her life.

From the minute she met Nico, Maki knew that most of the time, Nico was not someone that she should take seriously. Maki viewed Nico as the childish upperclassman who had a short temper and a constant need for attention. She also knew that Nico wasn't exactly the best at her studies.

_'I shouldn't get too involved with her in case she's a bad influence,' _was Maki's first thought about Nico. Following her gut instincts, she limited her contact with the club president as much as possible.

Of course, that plan didn't go as expected.

Even though Maki tried her best to stay away from Nico, it seemed to be the opposite for the older girl. It appeared that Nico could not leave Maki alone for whatever reason.

'_Fine. She can do whatever she wants to, I guess,' _Maki thought to herself, finally giving in and loosening up. It was around this time when Maki began to understand Nico a bit better.

"You're all too naive!" Nico would shout in the club room whenever someone came up with an atrocious idea for their idol group. After getting everyone's attention, she would continue her lecture, "Idols must be smiling at all times, even when they're in pain! The moment they step onto the stage, they're supposed to share their happiness and energy with the audience! That being said, we have to do this instead!"

Although Maki thought Nico was a bit delusional for spewing out lots of nonsense, she most definitely had to admit that she admired Nico's flare for idols because unlike Maki, Nico had something that inspired her greatly and lit up her world. It was her motivation and her torch to guide her through the path that would lead her to the future.

Maki had secretly envied the girl for that, but there was no way she could ever admit it.

Truthfully, Maki was very well aware of her beauty, her brains and her wealth - which were things most people didn't have. However, even so, every time she stepped in front of the mirror, she could only see an ordinary girl with the same unattractive indifferent expression on her face.

Was she discontent? Was she unhappy with her life? What more could she want anyway?

Maki spent ages pondering those questions to herself. Eventually, at one point, she even caught herself thinking about Nico and the upperclassman's happy life even when the Yazawa family didn't have a lot of money.

It was only after she spent more time with Nico that she started to understand the girl a bit better.

Every time Maki was remotely down, Nico would always approach the girl, even if just for a quick moment, with the intention to cheer her up.

"What's wrong, Maki-chan? Are you just sad you're not getting enough quality time alone with Nico-nii?" She would _always _use the same stupid joke without fail, but surprisingly, it never got on Maki's nerves. Still, that didn't stop Maki from hiding her true feelings.

"Wha- Of course not! Don't decide things by yourself," Maki would retort.

"Hmm, is that so? Well, if you say so, but if you're lying to me, I'll have Nozomi give you one of her _divine punishments_!" Nico would respond before going back to whatever she was doing.

'_It's not like you'd understand anyway.'_

But the more Nico stopped to make Maki happier, the more Maki was intrigued by the girl. Before she knew it, the two girls would spend lots of time together, but they weren't exactly getting along. Having come from two different worlds, Maki would constantly find herself tangled up in ridiculous quarrels with Nico. They just _had _to have a difference of opinion for almost everything.

Still, Maki was far more interested in the girl than she'd like to admit. It amazed the musical prodigy to see Nico's beaming red eyes whenever she talked about idols or the dazzling and shining wide smile the club president would give when she danced, sang or performed. She was captivated by Nico's stupidity, foolishness and her absolute love for idols.

It really came as a big shock to Maki when she was confessed to by the one she had always secretly admired. Of course, being two people who had always infuriated each other to no end, Maki kept up her stoic persona.

She rejected the girl without so much of a second thought, but looking back on it now, she primarily did it out of nervousness - especially since Maki was never one to be honest with her own feelings.

Did she want to go out with Nico? She had no idea herself. She had never been in a relationship, much less with an idiot. However, one thing was clear to her though.

At this rate, she wouldn't be able to stay with Nico forever.

In the first place, Maki thought it was really cold of her to have rejected her so coldly in the first place. Luckily, Nico wasn't repelled by this and was still determined to win her over.

And that was exactly why Maki sought Nozomi, the fortune telling master, for help.

"So you rejected Nico-chi, hmm?" Nozomi asked Maki without even requiring an explanation. The red-haired girl was perplexed by Nozomi's level of spiritual power, but decided to ignore it to spare her own sanity.

"W-Well, yeah," Maki mumbled under her breath, "but I really didn't mean to."

"Then you really are into Nico-chi after all?" Nozomi inquired. Maki flinched and started to wave her hands defensively in front of her face.

"N-No, that's not it at all! I-I just... didn't mean to reject her, that's all."

"I see. I would usually be all for assisting you, but," Nozomi inched closer to Maki and smirked, "the cards are telling me not to help someone who can't even be honest with her own feelings."

Maki could feel her face turning beet red at Nozomi's comment. Being honest with her feelings? What was _that _supposed to mean?

"Nico-chi must be waiting all alone in the club room right now. This is your chance to stop by if you want some privacy, if you know what I mean," Nozomi said with a wink. She patted Maki on the shoulder before walking away. "Good luck!"

"Huh, what?! Nozomi!" Maki shouted after the third year student, but Nozomi ignored her. Out of frustration and desperation, Maki tailed after Nozomi, only to be led to the Muse club room.

"Stay here for a second," Nozomi ordered the first year girl. Maki, who was never one to disobey orders, complied, even though she knew what was to come soon.

Not even a minute later, her predictions were fulfilled when Nozomi came out the door... of course, with Nico following right behind her. The two girls briefly made eye contact before Nico turned to the other third year girl.

"Nozomi!" she yelled.

"Hehe, I'll leave the rest up to you two! It looks like Maki-chan has something to say to you, Nico-chi! With that said, I'm off to help Eri-chi again, so good luck~" Nozomi waved her hand at the two girls and walked away as soon as possible.

Maki could feel the tension in the air as soon as she was left alone with Nico. Well, not that the awkwardness wasn't to be expected anyway.

"S-So... Nice weather we're having today, right?" Nico spoke up, breaking the silence. Maki arched an eyebrow at the girl, but the strange comment somehow alleviated the pressure that was being put on Maki.

Maki took a deep breath and mustered up all of her courage to look Nico in the eye.

"Nico-chan... Let's get to know each other better."

* * *

**A/N: **Wrote this on a whim. I promise the next chapter will actually bring development! For some reason, I felt the need to recap through Maki's perspective this time. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm really inspired right now, so I've got lots of story ideas ready to be written down. Stay tuned for more!


	3. Chapter 3

The air was needlessly tense inside of the Muse club room. Maki and Nico sat across from each other at the long-table with both of them crossing their arms. Nico wasn't quite sure of what was going on, but at the very least, she knew that Maki was trying to reach some sort of compromise between them.

"So... what's with the sudden change of heart? Have you finally realized how much Nico Nii really means to you?" Nico decided to speak up while bouncing around with her signature "Nico Nico Nii!" hand gestures. Although she was the one who posed the question, Nico wasn't _entirely_ dense - she had a vague idea of what sparked Maki's sudden interest in getting closer to each other.

"No, not exactly." Maki's immediate response caused Nico to scowl a bit. "But I did give it some thought... and just to clarify, when I say, 'get to know each other better', I mean just that, so don't misunderstand, okay?"

Nico slumped her back onto her chair and heaved a sigh. She had dealt with Maki's dishonest attitude for a while now, so she knew that there definitely was more to it. However, she decided it was best not to tease her any further in case she would end up regretting it later. "Fine, so how do you want to go about doing this?"

"... You don't have to make it sound like such a chore," Maki mumbled quietly to herself, yet still loud enough for Nico to hear. "Anyway, maybe it'd better if you came over to my house since that would be a lot easier than having to explain myself to you."

"... Huh? Wait, what?!" Nico reacted quickly after Maki made her suggestion. She leapt out of her chair, leaned over the table and pressed the back of her hand against Maki's forehead. "You're a little warm. Don't tell me you actually have a fever?"

Maki swatted Nico's hand away from her face and turned her head around. Her cheeks were totally flushed, which only worried Nico even further, but made Maki feel more embarrassed.

"I'm already starting to regret this," Maki said with a scoff.

"Hmm... so why are you suddenly trying to closer to me anyway?" Nico asked, ultimately being unable to resist the strong urge to push her playful teasing.

"D-Didn't I just say not to think anything of this?!" Maki retorted in a flustered tone, which only rendered her retort invalid.

"Alright then. Does this mean every time you want to 'get to know someone', you lure them to your house? Sounds awfully suspicious~"

"Y-You're wrong!" Maki's counterattack was weak, which gave Nico another opening to strike back.

"Is that so? Then does this mean you're specifically choosing me, Yazawa Nico-sama, to have a special meet-and-greet and dinner with the almighty Nishikino family? Is this my chance to ask them for their daughter's hand in marriage?"

"... T-That's ridiculous! If you're not going to take me seriously, then I'm leaving," Maki replied and headed straight for the exit.

"Eh? Ah, wait! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Nico shouted after Maki, who was already halfway out the door. She hurriedly grabbed her own schoolbag and quickly ran after her underclassman.

* * *

Having already been over at two of Maki's vacation homes, Nico thought she had a general image of what Maki's main house looked like.

Needless to say, the astonishing size of Maki's mansion still somehow managed to betray Nico's expectations.

"..." Nico unconsciously released the grip on her bag and dropped her jaw. She was left absolutely speechless at how huge and ridiculously clean everything was. She knelt down and gently brushed the sparkling marble floor with a finger. "N-No dust at all... Not even a speck!"

Straight above Nico's head hung a large crystallized chandelier which looked so spotless that she began to wonder who was responsible for cleaning the place - and whether or not they were human.

"Get up already, it looks undignified. Besides, there's no need to spend ages gaping at someone's front entrance," Maki spoke, snapping Nico out of her dazed state. Maki was the first to take off her shoes and step into the house.

"I'm home," she announced.

"Oh, uh, sorry to intrude!" Nico quickly took off her footwear as well and soon followed after Maki. While walking behind her, she silently cursed the musical prodigy for her luxury.

She was led into the living room of the Nishikino household, and was seated onto one of the soft white leather couches. It was unlike anything Nico had ever seen before. To the little girl, it almost felt like she had just stepped into a replica of princess's castle - well, not that Maki was too far off from one.

"I'll go get the tea, so wait here. Don't go around touching anything needlessly, okay?" Maki commanded. Nico nodded speechlessly in response and watched the other girl walk off.

"Yazawa-san?" Before Nico could even grab a hold of her own thoughts of what she was seeing and experiencing, an unfamiliar woman's voice came through the door immediately after Maki's departure.

"Y-Yes?" she answered nervously. The door slowly opened and revealed a slender woman with fiery red hair similar to Maki's - except slightly longer. She was a bit taller and, admittedly (much to Nico's embarrassment), quite a bit bustier than Maki. She also had a little beauty mark on the left side of her mouth, which, somehow, gave off some sort of older charm. Instantly, this drove Nico to the conclusion that she was none other than Maki's mother.

The woman smiled at Nico while holding a tray of steaming cookies in her hands with a pair of oven mitts. The sight of the delectable only seemed to further prove Nico's theory of the Nishikino household being some sort of fantasy land.

"Welcome! Please make yourself at home, Yazawa-san. I baked some cookies when Maki mentioned she was having a friend come. At first, I thought Koizumi-san was going to visit again, but I was surprised to hear Maki tell me that she was actually going to have an upperclassman over! It really has been a while since she has had a friend here you know?"

_'Geez, what am I, seven? I haven't been offered cookies by anyone's mother since I was in middle school,'_ Nico thought to herself while staring at the treats. However, it really wasn't like Nico to reject free food from others, especially when it was being offered to her.

_'But more importantly...' _Nico stared at the door that Maki walked out of earlier in order to fetch the tea. _'The oh-so-popular Maki-chan, who has gathered a large fan following at our school, hasn't invited a friend over in a while? That's a little unexpected, even for her.'_

"T-Thank you," Nico responded as Maki's mother placed the tray down on the glass coffee table.

"Oh no, it's my pleasure, since you've been taking good care of my daughter up until now!" The woman removed her mittens and placed them next to the tray. She sat herself onto a single-person couch adjacent from Nico's seat and crossed her legs with her hands on top of them.

Truthfully, Nico began to sweat beads as their eyes locked onto each other's. _'S-She wants to talk, doesn't she...'_

"As Maki is preparing the tea, I thought it would be nice if we could have a little chat," Nishikino-san suggested happily.

Nico felt more and more awkward by the second. Sure, she was completely open to the idea of meeting Maki's parents, but at the same time, she was also completely unprepared for the grand moment that was supposed to involve setting a good first impression on them! She nervously reached over to the table and popped a cookie into her mouth. It was nice, warm and crunchy, which made for a enjoyable experience in her mouth. Maki's mother giggled softly at the sight of Nico's quick trip to culinary heaven.

"I'm glad you're liking them... Actually," Nishikino-san said as she shuffled somewhat uncomfortably in her seat, "I was wondering if you wanted to play a little game with me."

"... Huh?" Nico mumbled intelligently. She wasn't entirely opposed to the idea, but since the suggestion came from someone much older than she was, she felt that somewhere down the line, the age difference would've acted as some of hindrance. Still, Nico nodded, as she wasn't one to give up without trying something out first.

"Great!" Nishikino-san clapped her hands together in delight. "Well, I was thinking that... for every cookie you ate, you would have to answer a question of mine regarding Maki!"

At that moment, Nico was extremely grateful for having already swallowed the treat or else she would've choked on it instead. She shot Maki's mother a very shocked, yet puzzled look. _'Is she trying to get something out of me?'_

"... And since you've already eaten one so far-"

"Wait wait wait!" Nico interrupted Nishikino-san in the middle of her sentence. "I ate it before you explained the rules!"

Maki's mother pondered the protest for a brief second before giving her final verdict. "Alright, I suppose I can let you slide on that one... but are you sure you don't want to eat another cookie?"

_'That's way past being super blatant and obvious!' _Nico thought to herself. She was starting to feel like Maki got her cool persona and poker face from her father. "N-No thank you, I'm a little full and dinner's coming around the corner too-"

"Even though I baked these specially for you? You know, I worked very hard to get these perfect and I don't get to make them often since Maki doesn't bring many people over!"

_'And now I'm glad that Maki-chan didn't inherit this sort of behavior from her mother!' _Nico silently thanked the gods. She stared at Nishikino-san's face and saw the woman giving her a puppy dog face, which was kind of strange coming from a woman her age - not that she would ever be caught dead saying that aloud.

"Mom."

Suddenly, there was a voice that interrupted what felt like a death game to Nico. Maki was standing by the door, holding her own tray, but it was occupied with two Japanese-styled cups filled with a beverage that gave off steam.

"What are you doing?" she asked calmly as she set the tea down on the table right next to the cookies.

"It's a se~cr~et~, right, Yazawa-san?" Nishikino-san winked at Nico. The small girl could only play along and nod her head. "Why don't you have a seat next to her, Maki?"

Maki complied and sat unusually close beside Nico, which made the upperclassman flinch a bit out of embarrassment.

"Does this mean you're planning on staying here?" Maki asked her mother as she reached for her glass of tea. Nico did the same just to occupy her hands with something other than awkward fidgeting.

"Of course not!" Maki's mother chuckled. "It's just that I was going to ask Yazawa-san a question while you were gone, but I guess it wouldn't hurt if you're here too."

Nishikino-san turned her attention over to Nico, whose shoulders tensed up quickly. Although she was drinking hot tea, she was still able to feel her body temperature dropping steadily. To be frank, Nico had somewhat of a vague idea of what Maki's mother was going to ask.

"Yazawa-san, what is your relationship with my daughter?" Nishikino-san asked bluntly. As the words processed through Maki's mind, Nico watched her underclassman's face slowly start to turn red.

There were so many things Nico was able to answer with, but Maki shot her a sharp glare, which clearly told her not to try any funny business. However, with Nico being someone known to cause a little bit of mischief _and _bad at reacting under pressure, she simply replied with, "We're _almost_ lovers."

Maki heaved a sigh and groaned. On the other hand, Nishikino-san looked a bit shocked, but for the most part, she appeared to be fine.

"Nico-chan..." Maki muttered to herself, but Nico simply grinned back at her.

"This is what they call youth, huh..." Nishikino-san contemplated this new discovery. "Hmm, so what is it exactly that you see in my daughter?"

"Mom!" Maki retorted. The young girl's stern look on her face made it clear that she no longer desired her mother's company at the moment. Taking the hint, Nishikino-san stepped out of her seat and walked towards the door.

"Well then, I hope you two enjoy yourselves," the woman giggled to herself seeing herself out.

"... Interesting woman," Nico spoke, attempting to break the ice between the two high school girls. Maki twisted her head around and glared intensely at Nico, who tried to feign innocence.

"_Almost lovers? _You're getting way too ahead of yourself there, Nico-chan," Maki replied gruffly, though her tone of voice didn't seem particularly angry at all, much to Nico's surprise.

"Ahead of myself? Is that implying there's a chance for us-"

"I-Idiot! Ignore what I said, it was just a slip of the tongue." Although Maki tried to cover up her own mistake, Nico could clearly see through this facade.

"Alright, alright," Nico said, shrugging it off. "So what exactly did you call me here for anyway?"

"... I-I just thought we could do normal friend things, you know? Just conversing, sharing stories- I don't know! I thought that Nico-chan would've had some ideas in mind too!" Maki responded, evidently panicking. Nico couldn't help but let out a giggle at Maki's little internal breakdown, which made Maki's cheeks turn an even deeper shade of red.

"You know, usually the _host _comes up with things to entertain the guests, and talking about normal girl things would usually be fine by me, but," Nico grinned slyly at Maki, "I really was expecting something more, considering a certain _someone _rejected the amazing Nico Nii's confession with the excuse of not being well acquainted, only to be invited over shortly after for the very purpose of getting to know each other better. Sound familiar?"

"I-I-"

"Let's cut to the chase, Maki-chan~ Just what are you _truly _after?" At this point, even Nico felt as if she was starting to push things a bit too far. She could see the irritated look on her underclassman's face, but she really couldn't help herself.

"Alright, that's enough!" a familiar voiced echoed down the hallway, though it was completely unexpected as it wasn't a member of the Nishikino family.

"Huh?" the two girls mumbled, dumbfounded.

"Really, the cards told me there'd be some discord around these parts," the voice continued to speak until the person in question walked into the living room. Both Maki and Nico were completely confused at the sudden appearance of none other than Toujou Nozomi, who had conveniently intervened to save Maki from really blowing up at Nico. "Nice timing, right?"

"N-Nozomi! What are you doing here?" Nico exclaimed. Although she wanted to press Maki for more answers, at the same time, she was also glad at the sudden arrival of her fellow third year student.

"Glad you asked! I hate to interrupt a good lover's quarrel, but we just need Nico-chi back at the school to complete some paperwork because of her club presidency status. It seems that because _someone _held the task off for too long, now the student council has to wait until it's all done to be able to finish our jobs. So how about it, Nico-chi? Come back now and finish the paperwork or continue your tense conversation here and face another round of 'Toujou Nozomi's Special Divine Punishment'?"

Once again, Nico could feel the temperature in her body escaping her as she looked into Nozomi's devilish and sadistic eyes. She nodded her head carefully, knowing full well that she likely would not be able to live through another one of Nozomi's specially reserved punishments for her.

"Great! ~ A cooperative Nico-chi really makes life easier." Nozomi smiled, but Nico was a hundred percent sure that the other girl was not very happy at all. "In that case, we'll be off now. Sorry if I got in the way of any potential romantic developments~"

"I-It's not like that!" Maki retorted and she got up from her seat to escort the two upperclassmen to the front door.

"_Riiiight..._" Nozomi quickly whispered into Maki's ear, making sure Nico couldn't hear them.

"J-Just get on with whatever you need to do already!" Maki scoffed. Her entire face was filled with a rosy pink blush, which made Nico's heart skip a beat before being taken hostage by Nozomi.

"W-We can always talk later, okay, Maki-chan?" Nico mouthed her last parting words to Maki. The younger girl gave a light and flustered nod before stepping back into her own house.

* * *

**A/N: **Got really lazy, whoops. This is a split chapter, simply for the sake of letting my readers know I'm still alive while giving myself more time to write the next half of this chapter. Believe it or not, I've got a lot planned for the other half, and it's bound to bring Maki and Nico even closer than they already are now. Stay tuned, my readers.


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